A Killing in November

DI Ryan Wilkins #1

by Simon Mason

Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park, a member of what many people would call the criminal classes. As a young Detective Inspector, he’s lost none of his disgust with privileged elites – or his objectionable manners. But he notices things; they stick to his eyes. His professional partner, DI Ray Wilkins, of affluent Nigerian-London heritage, is an impeccably groomed, smooth-talking graduate of Balliol College, Oxford. You wouldn’t think they would get on. They don’t.

But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall, they’re forced to.

Rich Oxford is not Ryan’s natural habitat. St Barnabas’s irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning. But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost’s study? Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina, a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others?

As tensions rise, things aren’t going well. Ray is in despair. Ryan is in disciplinary measures. But their investigation gradually disentangles the links between a Syrian refugee lawyer now working in the college kitchens, a priceless copy of the Koran in the college collection and the identity of the dead woman.


A Killing in November introduces an unlikely duo from different sides of the tracks in Oxford in a deftly plotted murder story full of dangerous turns, troubled pasts and unconventional detective work.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, British Literature, Mystery Thriller

352 pages, ebook

First published January 20, 2022

About the author

Simon Mason was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, on 5 February 1962. He was educated at local schools and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He splits his time between writing at home and a part-time editorial position with David Fickling Books, an imprint of Random House and publisher of his 2011 children's novel, Moon Pie.

He is the author of the Quigleys series for young readers: The Quigleys (Highly Commended in the UK's Branford Boase Award), The Quigleys at Large, The Quigleys Not for Sale, and The Quigleys in a Spin. He has also written three adult novels.

Simon lives in Oxford with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Mason sets his crime novel amidst the dreaming spires of Oxford, depicting the contrasting picture of the city, the sharp divides in social class with those that inhabit the entitled, privileged, wealthy academic circles at the fictional Barnabas College, and the more socially deprived parts with riots taking place amidst the notorious council estates of Blackbird Leys. This town and gown divide is echoed in the two lead detectives, the 30 year old DI Ray Wilkins, a well dressed Balliol College man, from a wealthy Nigerian background, a high flyer, and the more troubled 27 year old DI Ryan Wilkins, who despises the world of privilege, growing up in a Oxford trailer park, a single dad with an adorable young son, Ryan. I must admit at the beginning I found Ryan a character that stretched credulity as he dressed in trackies and a baseball cap worn backwards, arriving from Wiltshire under a dark cloud, rude and aggressive in his questioning of suspects and witnesses, with strong anger management issues, but he grew on me, and I found I was more than willing to suspend my sense of disbelief.

As you might have noted, both detectives have the same surname. which is how a mistake is made at the beginning when it is Ryan who is called to the scene of a murder at Barnabas College, the victim a woman who has been strangled in the Provost's study. There had been a dinner in the honour of the controversial billionaire Sheik al-Medina, with his history of human rights abuses at home and atrocities in other countries. The anxious Provost had been hoping to elicit funding for the new Institute for Peace Studies, only to be disappointed in what turned out to be a disastrous evening. As you might imagine, Ray and Ryan have little in common, chalk and cheese, and initially struggle to get on, but slowly they begin to form a bond, Ryan might well be a wild card, but he notices details and is able to make breaks in a complex and intriguing case, where it takes some time to identify the murdered woman, and which involves a valuable stolen Koran, and another death.

Mason creates a pair of detectives that managed to catch my interest, particularly Ryan, and he gives a great sense of location in Oxford, the starkly different sides, with the University and the poverty and unrest to be found at the other end of the social strata. The highlight for me was the developing relationship between Ray and Ryan as they worked the case that seemed impossible initially. Ray is reprimanded for not managing to control Ryan, which to be honest is not a realistic possibility, and Ryan finds himself in trouble as he locks horns with the powerful, but his troubles just seem to grow and grow. This is an entertaining and engaging crime read, with many threads, like asylum seekers, human trafficking, sexual harrassment, and abuse, a novel that I have no doubt will appeal to many crime and mystery readers. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in Oxford, A Killing in November by Simon Mason is the first of a new English police procedural series. Having two fast tracked Detective Inspectors named R Wilkins is unusual but their partnering is inspired. Ryan Wilkins was raised in a trailer park, had a violent alcoholic father, his girlfriend died of a drug overdose and left him with a young son. In contrast, Ray Wilkins is the son of African immigrants, university educated with a wife and is a suave dresser. Their first murder investigation occurs at St Barnabas's College in the Provos’s office and the contrasting Wilkins’ style causes much grief and makes for a riveting read. The bickering protagonists, slow progress and Ryan’s troubled past causes even more consternation. If you like odd characters and ambiguous endings, then this amusing tale is a five-star rating. With thanks to Quercus Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given, without bias.

[K.J. Charles]

Oxford-set detective odd couple book, both called Detective Inspector R. Wilkins. Raymond is a posh Nigerian-Brit with Oxford pedigree, Ryan is a white underclass foul-mouthed chav brought up in an Oxford trailer park by an alcoholic (Oxford area has some of the worst income inequality in the UK). It is not entirely filled in how Ryan became a DI with his amazingly bad attitude and refusal to adapt his clothing or manner or anything else, though he's a kind of crime solving savant. He's definitely the centre of the books and it's notable that the sheer force of classism directed against him is shown here as more powerful than wealthy privileged Raymond's experience of racism, from which class privilege provides some kind of shield.

Fun characters although Ryan gets a lot more attention and good lines than Raymond which is regrettable on multiple levels, including technically as Raymond is an interesting character. The plot is engaging though had a few holes and improbabilities, not least the idea that a British police force would be remotely bothered that one of its officers was violent, xenophobic or misogynist.

Lousy title, bet a marketing meeting came up with that.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A murder in a prestigious Oxford college calls for tact and sensitivity, both of which are in short supply in the young Detective Inspector who is the unusual main character of this book. Indeed, both of the investigating detectives are called D I Wilkins, but while Raymond is Oxford educated and from a privileged background, single father, Ryan, is from a decidedly less affluent environment. This novel uses the friction of ‘town and gown,’ well and throws fast tracked Ray into uncomfortable situations as he is first stunned by Ryan’s unconventional behaviour and yet finds his initial dislike changes into grudging respect.

The actual murder which the storyline is built around is an interesting one and involves the reader in various side issues, including the misuse of academic power, sexual harassment, possible terrorism links and always the discomfort of Ryan with the privilege around him. The author does an excellent job of creating two well defined detectives, who each have their own issues to deal with and who complement each other well. Ryan has a genuinely warm and moving relationship with his young son and a tendency to think creatively, which is let down by his inability to control his mouth or his anger.

I admire the fact the author did not finish this book with an obvious sequel, but I really hope he has one in mind. I would certainly look forward to reading more about Ryan and the Great Raymundo… I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

DI Ray Wilkins and DI Ryan Wilkins are each other's opposites. Ray is smart looking and a college graduate, Ryan grew up on a trailer park. They don't get on but have to work together to solve two murders in a college.
I liked the idea of those two, especially unconventional Ryan.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-5 stars

RTC

[Shannon M (Canada) · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of Chapter 2 of A KILLING IN NOVEMBER, I was about to dnf. The first two chapters didn’t make sense. But it had been recommended by well-regarded Goodreads friends, and so I decided to read one more short chapter. Suddenly everything fell into place, and I was hooked.

DI Ryan Wilkins is called to a murder scene by mistake; the call should have gone out to DI Raymond Wilkins. Ray is a respected officer at St. Aldates Police Station in Oxford, originally from a wealthy Nigerian background. Ryan has just been assigned to St. Aldates after leaving his previous posting “under a cloud”. Ryan grew up in a nearby trailer park where he was considered “white trash”, dresses sloppily, and is rude and aggressive to almost everyone, except for his two-year old son, whom he adores.

Their superintendent decides to have the two men work the case together. It is a complex case, with many threads—including sexual harassment, asylum seekers, human trafficking, and possible terrorism—and lots of red herrings. The plot doesn’t follow straight lines and to say more would be to get into spoiler territory.

Because of this complexity, and the fun I had reading about the interactions between Ryan and Ray, I am giving A KILLING IN NOVEMBER four stars. However, I did have these reservations after finishing it:

1) DI Ryan is “over the top” in terms of believability. He is too brash, too uncontrollable for me to believe that he ever managed to graduate from police college, let alone made it to DI by age 27.

2) His beloved two-year-old son speaks and thinks like a five or six year old. As written, his speech and thinking processes are definitely not age-appropriate.

3) DI Ryan’s father is also “over the top” as an example of a wife/child abuser. He is the child’s dream of a monster.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly overwhelmed, but still an interesting mystery. I like the setting, the characters and especially the wild Wilkins not so much, a bit over the top and so much stearing that it became tiresome.

I listened to he audiobook and the narrator did a decent job, he is good at switching between dialects and altering his voice so that female voices are rendered plausibly.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. Absolutely absurd. Ryan is not an "original" character, he's a ridiculous caricature. Such an individual a DI? From that point on,the book was in the realm of silliness for me.
The rest:forgettable.

[Sid Nuncius · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed A Killing In November far more than I expected to. It’s well written and well structured so that I found any implausibilities and familiar tropes perfectly forgivable.

On the face of it, it sounds like a collection of clichés of the genre strung together: the chalk-and-cheese partners, the rebellious working-class detective in a posh environment and so on. Add to this the idea that Ryan, a CID Inspector, would turn up to investigate a death in an Oxford college wearing tracksuit bottoms and a baseball cap on backward, tell the Provost to “calm the [copulatory obscenity] down” and so on and it sounds utterly preposterous. And it is, really – but somehow it’s well enough done for that not to matter much. The two sides of Oxford are well portrayed, there is some pretty good characterisation and Ryan’s relationship with his 2-year-old son is especially well painted, I think.

The story is a good one, too. There are several possible avenues to consider, including possible jihadi action, straightforward theft, sexual harassment and so on. Each is, in its own way, well considered and I found it an involving and in places an exciting read. The two central characters are perhaps a little overdone, but they are interesting studies nonetheless, both flawed in their own way and with plenty of messy stuff left unresolved, rather than the trite little Life Lessons which so often pollute this kind of portrayal.

So, slightly to my surprise, I can recommend this as an entertaining read and a promising start to a new series. I’ll certainly be looking out for the next one.

(My thanks to Quercus for an ARC via NetGalley.)

[lise.charmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il romanzo si svolge a Oxford, presentando due facce della medaglia di una città nota soprattutto per le sue storiche università. E proprio in una di queste, negli alloggi del Rettore, viene ritrovato il cadavere di una ragazza molto bella. Chi era, cosa ci faceva lì?
Per un curioso caso di quasi ominimia, invece di mandare sul posto il detective Raymond Wilkins, nero, borghese, colto, di ottime maniere, viene inviato Ryan Wilkins, appena entrato in servizio: proveniente dai bassifondi, maleducato, sboccato e con problemi di gestione della rabbia, insomma un elefante nella cristalleria. Ma Ryan è motivato e ottimo osservatore e ha intuizioni brillanti. I due, nonostante siano come l'acqua e l'olio, finiranno per lavorare insieme e a trovare un modo per far funzionare l'indagine.
Più del giallo, ho trovato interessanti i personaggi: sono loro (soprattutto Ryan) il motore del romanzo e l'ho letto con voracità per vedere cosa sarebbe successo tra loro, cosa avrei scoperto sul loro passato. Ben camuffato inoltre questo romanzo è anche una denuncia dello snobismo e delle storture classiste della società inglese: mentre l'indagine si svolge tra gli ordinati corridoi e giardini del campus universitario e in certe residenze eleganti di Londra, Oxford è contemporaneamente messa a ferro e fuoco dalla rivolta di un quartiere popolare. Il contrasto tra la vita di Raymond - ordinata, elegante, di ottimo gusto in fatto di musica, abbigliamento, cucina - e quella di Ryan - fatta di musica anni Novanta, una casa scalcinata e un bambino che lui cresce da solo - è stridente e illuminate.
Il giallo inglese ha un'ottima tradizione e devo dire che la sta portando molto bene nella contemporaneità.

[James Hodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there is a touch of arrogance involved in labelling a book “first in series” before the market has pronounced on the first volume. Especially when, as now, the first attempt doesn’t really come off. The basic idea - a pairing of two very contrasting detectives - isn’t particularly original. But to make the chav white trailer trash, partnered with an Oxford-educated person of colour, as the lead figure is a change. But it doesn’t work well. The white guy is so truly awful in dress, speech and behaviour as to be beyond belief. That such a character could have made it to DI is a nonsense, from which the plot never really recovers. There are some decent plot touches, but overall the book fails to convince. And too many pages at the end are taken up by a rather breathless rush through tying up the loose ends. My Kindle copy included the first pages of the second in the series. I didn’t read them. I’m sorry I wasted time on No 1. Advice to anyone thinking of embarking on the reading journey? Don’t. Thanks

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Oxford colleges: “They’ve educated half of our prime ministers, an extremely high proportion of our politicians, judges, journalists, captains of industry, educationalists, analysts and activists. They are the heart of the establishment. A closed world. A world with its own rules, its own way of doing things.”

A Killing In November is the first book in the DI Ryan Wilkins series by British author, Simon Mason. When a young woman is found, strangled and hog-tied, in the private office of the Provost of Barnabas College, it needs special handling. It comes just as the Provost is hosting an Emir from the UAE, hoping to cement a funding deal. There’s a special Koran at the College that some think should go back to the Saudis, there’s a Syrian refugee working in the kitchens, and there’s more going on behind the scenes than most people know.

Thames Valley Detective Superintendent Waddington sends her best man, DI Ray Wilkins, a polished, articulate London Nigerian, but somehow, the call goes to DI Ryan Wilkins, just starting at Thames Valley after being transferred from Wiltshire due to gross misconduct. So, questioning the Provost and his wife is not the suave, suited Balliol man, but a disrespectful, slovenly fellow brought up in Hinksey Point trailer park, a man who has no regard for privileged elites.

Ryan does, however, have a good eye: he notices things. By the time Ray steps in to try to redeem the situation, Ryan has managed to generate a stiff complaint. When Ray tells Ryan “Do you want to tone it down a bit? It’s not amusing”, it’s true that those lofty educators won’t appreciate his attitude and antics but, after a very slow and serious start, the reader will very much appreciate the light relief he provides in that and many later instances.

Ray is charged with babysitting this unruly character who’s “twenty-seven, looks fifteen, acts like he’s seven”, and faces the unaccustomed wrath of his Super when he fails, on numerous occasions, to control his behaviour. And yet, their investigation advances in unexpected ways, and Ray finds himself acting much more rashly than he normally would. Influenced by Ryan?

Mason certainly gives the reader an interesting protagonist. Ryan is irrepressible, his own worst enemy, has anger management issues, but highly perceptive and a loving father, ultimately someone the reader can’t help cheering on and commiserating with. And Ryan Junior can’t fail to be a favourite character: much of his dialogue is an utter delight, and only the hardest of hearts will fail to choke up during the cemetery scene.

Twists and turns and red herrings in generous measure keep the reader guessing and the pages turning right up to the final reveal. This is a cleverly plotted crime novel that features human trafficking, the theft of valuable artefacts, pornographic websites, copious use of expletives and quite a bit of violence. More of this cast appear in the second instalment, The Broken Afternoon, a welcome addition to many TBRs. Gripping and entertaining British crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus Books.

[keikohuchica · Rating 4 out of 5]

È confortante sapere che c’è ancora chi riesce a produrre gialli ben scritti come questo , con tutti gli ingredienti del genere ma in grande spolvero .

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 Sterne für diesen guten Krimi! Durch das ungleiche Ermittler-Duo und ihre amüsanten Auseinandersetzungen und Konversationen wurde die Krimi Handlung sehr amüsant aufgelockert und der Roman hat sich für mich richtig flott und gut gelesen. Ich freue mich schon auf den nächsten Fall der Beiden!

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Mick Herron recommends a crime novelist I sit up and take notice. But this first book in an ongoing series might not be the best place to start with Mason, filled as it is with all the dull paraphernalia of getting going. Part of the issue for me is that the premise is so transparent: the two odd-ball detectives who get partnered up has been done to death from Lynley and Havers with their class-bound differences to Morse and Lewis - the latter especially prominent in this Oxford college plot.

Mason isn't subtle: two DIs, both R. Wilkins - Raymond and Ryan - one middle-class Nigerian-British with an Oxford degree, fancy clothes and a boxing Blue; the other a foul-mouthed working class lad with a troubled background and anger management issues as well as a chip on his shoulder.

The problem is it's really hard to see Ryan as anything other than cartoonish: he slouches around in eternal trackie bottoms from which he pulls out his Detective Inspector warrant card and no-one pulls him up on his dress code? It's really hard to believe he's risen so rapidly through the police ranks to make Inspector by 27. Add his self-confessed xenophobia (Mason tries to make him rail against 'foreigners' without him being racist), his illegal firearm and his inability to obey an order and my eyes were rolling at the uber-maverick cliches.

Of course, we know perfectly well that Ray and Ryan will overcome their differences to form a bromance, aided by Ryan's supposedly cute son, also called Ryan. And I might buy into that later in the series when it all settles down, loses some of the 'culture war' stereotypes (Ryan goes clubbing, Ray listens to classical and jazz etc.) and dials back on the personal back-stories to concentrate on the police investigation.

The plot is overly simplistic here with too much time spent on establishing the characters and the action scenes where Ray goes up against aggressive opponents by recalling his boxing days are comic - unintentionally, I think, added to when Ryan suddenly reveals his skill at kick-boxing!

But, but... Mick Herron's recommendation - I might give another one a try.

[Gabril · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torniamo a Oxford, nelle aule dell’università, quegli ambienti tanto cari a Colin Dexter che ha creato l’inarrivabile ispettore Morse. Torniamo al giallo classico: una ragazza viene assassinata nello studio del viscido rettore, proprio mentre uno sceicco milionario è ospite del college; gran trambusto, identità ignota, quasi nessun indizio.
E torniamo anche al poliziesco, con una coppia di agenti che porta lo stesso cognome, Wilkins, e quasi lo stesso nome: Ray e Ryan.
E qui viene il bello perché proprio questi due sono la carta vincente, questi due apparentemente incompatibili, tanto sono spaiati, differenti, agli antipodi. E che invece, per assurdo, funzionano.

Tutto il resto sta nella penna di Simon Mason: agile, efficace, condita da quell’ironia inglese che strappa sempre un sorriso quando meno te l’aspetti.
E poi c’è la carta vincente: Ryan, un personaggio unico che ti diventa subito intimo, amico, fratello di sventura, esempio di resistenza. Con tutto il suo passato scabroso, la sua (legittima) rabbia e la sua mancanza di controllo.
Insomma: queste pur consistenti quattrocento pagine non si leggono, letteralmente si divorano, non si riesce proprio a smettere.
What else?

Semplicemente uno dei gialli migliori letti in questi ultimi anni.
Che fare? Passiamo al secondo della serie sperando che Sellerio li pubblichi tutti e in fretta. 😅

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two detectives R Wilkins accidentally get paired to work the same case. They couldn’t be more different. Ryan is young, “trailer trash”, a single dad, zero filter and zero class. Ray is impeccably groomed, impeccably mannered, by the book and thinks there’s something seriously wrong with Ryan. Watching these two interact is lots of fun.

Ryan’s continued work with the police remains highly questionable. I hope he continues because I’d like to see these two together again. They make a good team no matter how much they annoy each other.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein Ermittlerduo, das mir Spaß gemacht hat und ein sehr ungewöhnlicher, überraschender Plot.

[Sivvy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A very readable debut and clearly the start of a new detective series starring DIs Wilkins and Wilkins. All police procedurals have to have two misaligned partners and this was no exception - the posh Oxbridge educated black cop and the trailer park wrong-side-of-the-tracks white cop. But I did find a lot of the tropes pretty lazy (posh guy eating Waitrose meals, poor guy wearing trackies and being casually bigoted) and while I get that the novel was going for the edgy detective as its USP, I found the Ryan character to verge too far towards the offensive, implausible and unlikeable. (And don’t get me started on his 2-year-old son seemingly having language skills that would put most secondary school kids to shame, a recurring feature which annoyed me more than it probably should). A decent crime thriller but a little too stereotyped in its character portrayals to be an instant classic.

[Ursula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this debut detective novel and look forward to the next one!

[David Boddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genre that keeps on giving!

[Charlystante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Für die Ermordung einer jungen Frau in der Oxford Universität gibt es zunächst kein Motiv.
Die Ermittlungen der beiden ungleichen Inspektoren, aber mit gleichem Namen, werden auch genau so unterschiedlich geführt.
Trotzdem müssen sie sich zusammenraufen. Das macht den Reiz dieses Krimis aus. Es entwickelt sich ein sympathisches Duo. Der Fall selber hat mir nicht so gut gefallen und auch Spannung fehlte mir.
Falls es aber weitere Fälle mit den Wilkins geben wird, werde ich diese auf jeden Fall verfolgen.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a start, interesting characters! Playing with stereotypes and prejudices, though not wholly convincing! The plot seems a bit rushed and constructed. At least, I‘m curious enough to find out if and how the characters will be developing in the second book.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Killing In November is a book that I enjoyed as much as I got annoyed with. Great story, clever plot, well paced but then the characters... Two detectives, Ray Wilkins and Ryan Wilkins, set against each other with their class differences, at times almost obscenely exaggerated. Yes, I do get it, don't need to make such a point of it, a gentleman and a chav, fine, let's not go on. So I really liked the story but the portrayal of the characters drove me to despair. Will I read more? Possibly.

[Three · Rating 3 out of 5]

carino, personaggi piacevoli (è inverosimile, però, il bambino di due anni che ha il vocabolario e la capacità di ragionamento di uno di otto o dieci), storia discreta. Si lascia leggere.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a detective novel is set in Oxford your immediate thought is Inspector Morse. But though the setting here is the same the protagonist is very different. While Morse was always an unconventional detective, DI Ryan Wilkins is a downright uncouth one. He dresses like a teenager, drives a clapped-out Peugeot and is given to angry, violent outbursts. He’s a good detective though, with an eye for detail and the character is further redeemed by Ryan’s relationship with his toddler son.

The plot involving an Oxford college, a wealthy Arab Sheik and the murder of an unidentified woman, rattles along at a good pace and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. There were one or two small things that didn’t quite ring true but overall this is a hugely enjoyable novel and you’ll find yourself rooting for the central character despite his failings.

[Zoe Radley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a brilliant, compelling, gripping and thrilling book, that as soon as I had it in my hands I had to read it. And yes I did get so hooked into the novel that I finished it within a few hours. Honestly if you loved inspector Morse books, a flawed and poor and tough genius police officer this book is one for you, it’s almost like Morse has reversed into a young tough chap, with a past that is brutal and trying to make sure his kid lives the best life he can. There’s also the posh, privileged cop too who’s prejudiced about this partnership till he realised just how vulnerable and genius is Ryan. Absolutely brilliant and classic Oxford murder mystery set around topics such as Syrian Refugee crisis, UEA humanitarian rights and ofc money.

[Mary Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book which was narrated excellently by Matt Addis. In the beginning the young detective, Ryan Wilkins sounded irritating and a little over the top, like a male Vicky Pollard. However, on reflection, maybe I had slipped into judging the character negatively just like everyone else he encountered in the book.

A fast paced, enjoyable thriller that challenges our assumptions about class, race, goodness, corruption and depravity.

Would definitely recommend it.

[Colby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wooden.